Priest sentenced for involvement in genocide

On Friday a Rwandan priest was sentenced to more than two decades in prison after he was found guilty of genocide killings in 1994.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda sentenced Emmanuel Rukundo to 25 years in prison for crimes including genocide and murder.

Rukundo's acts were clearly part of the genocide, said Judge Joseph Asoka de Silva after the judgement was read. When he committed these crimes, he intended to completely or partially destroy the Tutsi ethnic group.

According to court evidence, the 50-year-old priest collaborated with the Hutu extremists kidnapping Tutsis who had sought refuge in a seminary in Gitarama in central Rwanda leading to many of their deaths, the AFP reported.

Rukundo was also charged with the attempted rape of a Tutsi woman in May 1994, the AFP reported.

During the genocide the priest served as the military chaplain.

He was later arrested in Switzerland and his trial started in November 2006.